His petition calls on the map of England to be re-drawn so Scottish border, from Chester in the west to Sheffield in the east, along a line between the River Dee and the mouth of The Humber.

The bizarre 'new Scotland', to come into place if Scots gain independence, has been re-Tweeted more than 3,000 times.

The call came as George Osborne promised a "revolution" in the way England is governed, with elected mayors presiding over far greater powers in major cities.

The Chancellor used his first speech of the new parliament today to extend his Northern Powerhouse vision, calling on other urban areas to follow the example of Greater Manchester in taking advantage of new powers.

He plans to help areas outside London rival the capital and end a "broken" political system which saw power concentrated in Whitehall.

Cities in the North have traditionally been Labour and many returned Labour MPs. But voters in Yorkshire and Lancashire started to use #TakeUsWithYouScotland shortly after the General Election.

Some cracked jokes using the tag after North West Motorway Police announced they had "picked up a pedestrian on the M62 who was trying to walk to Scotland".

Mr Dent, who started the petition after the Scot referendum on independence last year, has seen it grow in recent days.

"There is a huge frustration in parts of the UK about the things that have happened since 2010," he said.

"I think people need a place to go where they can say 'not in my name! This is not the England I want'," he added.

It has won support from the SNP, whose social media expert Ross Colquhoun tweeted:

Those backing the petition included Holly Johnson, of Newcastle, who wrote: "I'd rather party with the Scots any day. Keep the North together!"

John Slane, also based in Newcastle, wrote: "It's a brilliant idea! We love the Scottish and they love us (I think? Haha)."

Luke Weatherburn added: "I live in Newcastle and feel we are far more connected and cared about by Scotland than by London."

Ten major cities - Newcastle, Manchester, Liverpool, Birmingham, Sheffield, Nottingham, Leeds, Glasgow, Cardiff and Bristol - called for greater powers this week, saying they could create 1.2m more jobs in the next 15 years, adding £222 billion to the economy.

They say that is the equivalent of adding the entire Danish economy to the UK.